"Those who can must step up as a community when the need
arises and save our precious assets and encourage growth so we can retain our status as a
top-tier city," Curtis Francois

Gateway Motorsports Park is finally where it belongs - locally owned and operated by people who
love motorsports and who love the region. Today, Curtis Francois announced that he has finalized
the local purchase of Gateway Motorsports Park. "This is a great day for local sports fans and for
the St. Louis region," said Francois, a real estate developer, retired race car driver and owner of
Gateway Motorsports Park. "Our region needs significant sporting, entertainment and cultural
venues to remain relevant, and Gateway MSP is among the finest in the country."

The St. Louis region has taken significant blows over the years, with the loss of major Fortune 500
companies (today there are only nine) such as May Department Stores, AG Edwards, etc., not to
mention the uncertain future of the Rams. The consequences of letting this world-class facility
shutter were staggering. That's why the State of Illinois, St. Clair County and the City of
Madison were so motivated to revitalize this property, which will employ hundreds and entertain
millions for decades to come. "Without a buyer willing to take on the risk of ownership, the
assets on the property would have been sold as scrap," said City of Madison Mayor John Hamm.
"Gateway MSP is a first-class asset to our region, and it would have been devastating to our
community to lose something as valuable simply due to corporate restructuring and a poor economy."

"Someone had to step up and prevent this regional jewel from ending up in the scrapyard," said
Francois. Getting this deal done proved more complex than others wanted to undertake, which is why
the multimillion-dollar property sat vacant for over a year once the previous owners, Dover
Motorsports, Inc., relinquished the property due to a corporate refocus to concentrate their
efforts on gaming. As a result, Gateway and sister facilities in Memphis and Nashville were
shuttered. To complicate matters, the property on which Gateway Motorsports Park resided was owned
by a half-dozen property owners and leased by Dover. Francois' experience in putting together
complex real estate deals over the years proved invaluable to the success of the revitalization of
the largest outdoor entertainment facility in the region. "Getting these local property owners to
agree on a common approach and sale was certainly challenging, but these are great folks who were
committed to seeing this track survive and thrive."

Illinois Senator James F. Clayborne, Jr., who represents the 57th District, said this venue was
just too important to the people of Illinois to let it vanish. "When a facility like his is on the
verge of extinction, through no fault of the people of Illinois, we have an obligation to stand up,
protect these jobs, future tax revenues and the businesses that would have been devastated by the
loss of this great venue. We are grateful for the cooperation of so many people who have stepped
forward to make this happen."

The Future of Gateway Motorsports Park
What Francois also brought to the table was a tremendous passion to revive professional racing in
the region. Gateway MSP has historically been a very popular facility for major motorsports
sanctioning bodies due to its proximity to Indianapolis, which is where many major motorsports
companies and top drivers are headquartered. The facility is on track to generate nearly 45
full-time jobs and hundreds of part-time jobs, in addition to tax revenue and revenue for
surrounding businesses such as hotels, restaurants, etc. that were on the verge of going bust when
the track closed in 2010. "Those who can must step up as a community when the need arises and
save our precious assets and encourage growth so we can retain our status as a top-tier city," said
Francois. "I was born and raised here in St. Louis, and I love this community. This is an
incredible sporting facility with potential to become one of the top-flight facilities in the
country. That would be a great thing for this region."

Francois has big plans for the future of Gateway, which will make a big impact on the overall
region. He has put in place a five-year, multi-million dollar capital improvement campaign that
will put Gateway Motorsports Park in a position to succeed in the long-term. The drag strip has
been completely rebuilt and is now among the top drag strips in the country. Plans are underway
for development of a nationally-sanctioned Karting track scheduled for a summer 2013 opening, which
has created tremendous buzz throughout the racing industry. The Gateway Challenge program, which is
launching this year, allows just about anyone to experience the thrill of racing on an awesome
track. The oval track will host the premier Silver Crown event in June for the first time since
2001 at Gateway. 2014 will bring more activity to the oval track than ever before, and 2015 plans
are moving toward attracting more major motorsport-sanctioned events throughout the facility.
Efforts are underway to schedule outdoor concerts in the 20,000 seat amphitheater-style stands.

"The economic health of this region is dependent on the willingness of business leaders and
entrepreneurs to take calculated risks and support innovation," said Mark Kern, St. Clair County
Board Chairman. "Now that Gateway Motorsports Park is on the path to long-term sustainability,
it's time enlist the entire community and area businesses to rally around Gateway so it can provide
real value to the region."

Background
In September of 2011, Francois reached an agreement to operate Gateway for the 2012 racing season
while plans were underway for the revitalization and purchase. An important key to reopening
Gateway was the commitment to drag racing and the partnership with the National Hot Rod Association
(NHRA). Francois inked a long-term deal with the NHRA starting with a signature event in September
2012. "Thanks to the grassroots motorsports fans across the country, this event was the most
successful NHRA event in track history, setting attendance and track speed records," said Francois.
Tickets go on sale next week to the public for the 2nd Annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.
For more information, www.gatewaymsp.com

Gateway Motorsports Park is a 200-acre facility located at 700 Raceway Boulevard about five minutes
east of downtown St. Louis. The vision for the new Gateway Motorsports Park is to create a racing
lifestyle that attracts enthusiasts, professionals, amateurs and street-car lovers of all kinds by
harnessing the grassroots momentum, energy and passion of the thousands of racing enthusiasts and
fans in the area. The first racing event at Gateway was held in 1997. The track closed in 2010
under former ownership and reopened for the 2012 racing season with Francois at the helm.

At Gateway Motorsports Park our mission is to provide our fans, racers and sponsors with a
first-class, up close and personal racing experience. This includes unprecedented access to the
drag strip, the oval, the road-racing track and a nationally-sanctioned karting track as well as
special events such as concert and corporate functions for year-round activity at Gateway
Motorsports Park. www.gatewaymsp.com